Here goes the second chapter. Ena's work has ended, and she is now at home, about to leave to school.
After lying on the bed for about fifteen minutes, I picked up my school bag from the wall hanger. I quickly re-read my homework answers, searching for possible errors. There were some typos that I had to fix, and some downright weird babble. I didn't have much time to find out the correct answers, so I decided to ask the teacher for help. I then brushed my hair, and tied them into a simple ponytail. I took off my t-shirt and pulled on an old, warm, loosely turtle-necked brown sweater.
I rushed to the bus stop on the next street. In three minutes, the bus arrived. I flipped my bus card to the driver, got it back, and went to the back seat. Sorako would be coming in after two stops. I wiggled my feet in the air, enjoying the warmth of the local bus. The same passengers travel on the same line every day – there's always that little rabbit girl with her friends, some elders going to visit the grocery store. It's pretty fun to listen at them discussing about various things.
I almost fall asleep in the humming of the bus, until I heard an energetic, familiar voice next to me. Sorako had sat there, and I hadn't noticed it at all!
"Who's this little sleepyhead here?" she asked friendly.
"Oh, hello to you too, Sora", I said and looked at her from head to toe. She started to dig something up from her mocha-coloured shoulder bag.
"Oh, did you manage to do your English homework? I had some trouble with the exercise number 12", she told me and showed me her notebook. I took a look at her answers, and tried to give her some advice. She managed to do about half of the exercise, until we had no more time left.
"Pack up your stuff, we're going to be at the stop soon", I said and walked down to the slide doors. Sorako soon followed.
We jumped out, and decided to go inside the school building immediately. It was a brown brick house with two stories, surrounded by a small corner shop and the school library building. It's sort of weird that a small senior high school like this has its own library, but that's certainly not a bad thing. I don't have the money to buy any other books than the necessary studybooks, so it's a really nice place. I usually borrow thrilling whodunnits and just about anything that looks interesting enough.
We went up to the second floor, to the class number 289. The teacher had not yet arrived. Some other students were already there, including the rabbit twins, a mongoose girl, a brash red echidna and his friend, a blue hedgehog. They were sitting in their own groups, chatting and cracking up jokes. I didn't know the others except Sorako very well. We didn't talk much outside of school projects. Everyone's just sitting with their best friends, being a bit shy about the new people around. How would things be at the end of this year? Would I know them better? And what would happen after graduation? That seems to be really far in the future. Taking hold of this moment, enjoying now, worrying later. After all, there's a lot to be done during these years.
I heard steps coming from the hallway. Our teacher, Mr. Asano, entered the classroom, and told us to stand up. We greeted him, and he greeted us. He was a rather old, grey-haired but funny little guy who understood our problems, but sometimes got angry at us – but not without a good reason.
"So, today, we'll be starting with history, and then we should concentrate on mathematics for two lessons. English on the last lesson", he called and started searching for his books. I let out a long sigh.
"Let's see, who's here today… Sawai Ran and Aya?" Asano asked.
"Here", the rabbit twins said together. They were dressed in cute, matching clothes every day, and always hung out together. Having a sister like that, who's been with you all the time, they have a special bond between them. They're usually friendly and welcoming for everyone.
"Kuwashima Kanako?"
"Heee-re", Sorako said waving her hand in the air.
"Sonic?"
"Right here", said the blue hedgehog sitting behind me, tapping his right foot impatiently. He seemed a bit worn-out today, but still had his energetic attitude. He was the one who talked all the time, questioned the stuff written in the textbooks and challenged the teacher's arguments. He must have been through of lots of things before, because when he is telling us about something, I can hear that he's talking from true experience, without any hesitation. How can someone so young have such broad common knowledge? He's certainly an interesting person.
Asano continued reading the name list.
"Ito Sayuri?"
"Here I am", said the orange-furred mongoose. She was a nice, quiet girl who liked all kinds of literature. She always had a book or a novel with her to read, usually some old-school sci-fi. She was the type who seemed to just do whatever her emotions tell her. If something in class annoyed her enough, she just walked out, without a word, sometimes coming back, sometimes not. She didn't ever throw tantrums or cry, she just left. She must have really strong self-control.
"Knuckles?"
"Yeah", the echidna sitting behind Sonic grunted with a deep, mature voice. He was usually calm and composed, at least when compared to Sonic. When he had an opinion, he wouldn't pull it back, no matter what. He was very devoted to whatever he did, not giving up – even in a situation where he realized that he couldn't do anything to help. His relationship with Sonic was a bit rough, but you could see that they had known for a long time and gained a complete trust for each other. The friendship between guys sure is different from friendship between girls.
"Chun Ena?" the teacher finally called. I put my hand up, and said "Here".
"Okay, we're good to go. Tanaka is absent today, and so is Chihara", Asano said and took the history study book. He started to write something on the whiteboard, asking us to copy everything. I followed his instructions, not thinking too much. Suddenly, I felt Sorako's paw on my shoulder.
"About tonight's karaoke trip, are you still interested?" she asked. I nodded.
"Of course, I've already planned what I'm going to sing", I whispered back. Asano gave me an unpleasant look, apparently telling me to be quiet while writing.
"Great, let's talk about it on the break", she wrote on the side of my notebook to avoid talking. Asano was a great teacher, but he required absolute silence from his students. I felt bad for disturbing the class, but decided to continue working. I talked with Sorako through messages on notebooks, until the class ended.
The hours passed, slowly but steadily. Soon, it was time for the last lesson to begin. I drew random pictures on my study calendar's final page. Sorako was trying to solve her math problems, and I didn't want to disturb her. The other students in the class were doing all kinds of random things, too. Sonic and Knuckles were arguing, once again. Put a nonconformist hedgehog against a stubborn echidna, and you know what you're getting. Those two were the opposites in many ways.
Sayuri, the mongoose, was reading an old comic book with the twins. She probably bought it from a second-hand bookshop. The three of them were laughing for its silly space ship designs and predictions of the future. Sayuri's long ponytails were swinging as she burst into laughter. She only laughs when she's reading something; otherwise she appears quite emotionless and cool. She can absorb into the fiction worlds of the books, forgetting everything around her.
Asano stepped back into the class, into the front of us.
"I have an announcement. We are going to have a "Book Club" project in English, and you should work in pairs", he said, looking at us kindly. Everyone went sitting with their best friends.
"No, don't do anything, yet. This time, we're going to select new pairs. Go with a new person you don't know yet", announced Asano. I was shocked. Not working with Sorako? Everyone got up, carefully eyeing at each other. I started thinking about them. Sonic and Knuckles were apparently feeling uneasy. They were the only guys in the class, and that, of course, meant working with a girl. This was not elementary school anymore, but they weren't still used to it. For some reason, get
"Take your time, this is important for the development of your social skills", Asano said, sitting back on his chair.
Then, I saw Sonic and Knuckles coming up to me and Sorako. Sonic lowered down his voice.
"Hey, you two, could we possibly work as a four-man team? You would be with me, Sorako with Knuckles, or the other way, and then we could work together, everyone helping everyone", he suggested. Sorako looked at me, flashing a cheerful, pleased smile.
"What a brilliant idea, Sonic! Of course we'll accept", Sorako said happily. The problem was solved, and we could be together after all.
"So, what have you chosen?" Asano asked us, taking some notes.
"I'm going to be with Aya", Sayuri said.
"Teacher, could I have the permission to send an e-mail for the now-absent Chihara, asking if she could work with me?" Ran asked politely.
"That's all right, go on", Asano agreed and wrote down the names.
"I am with Sorako, and Sonic is with Ena", Knuckles said on our behalf.
"Well, it's decided then, let's get into the topic."
Coming up next: The students start working at the book project, finding it more difficult than expected. Working as a team with people unfamiliar to each is going to be difficult
at first. How will they do?
Again, thank you for reading. Please message me any comments and ideas if you have them.
Kaitu, the girl who sucks at writing previews for next chapters